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“No. He has a job here, and he can’t leave.” Her answer was succinct, leaving no room for rebuttal.
“So that’s it?”
“I’m sorry, Sara. Really, I am. Can you do something for me? Can you let Kent know that I’m passing on the apartment?”
Really? After everything, she still wanted Sara to do her a favor. Well, she was done jumping through hoops to make people happy. “No, Cari, I won’t do that. This is your problem. You need to fix it. I’ve got to go.”
Sara ended the call. Her breathing came in rapid gasps. Her mind spun with all that had just happened. Her heart ached as tears splashed onto her cheeks. She dashed them away.
She couldn’t believe this was happening to her again. She had been counting on her sister to do what she’d said and move home. Why had she let herself get caught up in something she should have known wouldn’t happen?
It was like as soon as she cared about someone, they drifted out of her life. First, her mother, then her father, then Cari, now Oreo and Kent. Because she was certain he was going to get the job on the mainland, and there would be no reason for him to stay.
Having absolutely no destination in mind and nowhere she wanted to be, she found herself walking back to her place. She ended up with an iced tea and a mystery book on her deck. She forced herself to concentrate on the words on the page instead of the mess otherwise known as her life.
Slowly, word by word, sentence by sentence, she let the sun’s rays soothe her. When her thoughts strayed to Kent, she would lose her place in the story, but she’d circle back and reread that part.
The more she read, the better she felt. Reading had been her escape after her mother died. She’d read everything she could get her hands on. And then again after her father passed. With every traumatic event in her life, she would slip away into a story until she was calm enough to deal with the fallout in her own life.
Hours later, she set aside the now-finished book. The sun was sinking low in the sky. Though her heart felt battered and bruised, she was able to focus on her own life. She’d just received a promotion at the inn. She needed to focus on the good things in her life and not the holes in her heart. Going forward she needed to protect herself and not let people get close to her.
Chapter Eighteen
Heshouldbeontop of the world.
That evening Kent returned to Bluestar Island. This week had been full of twists and turns. His head was still spinning with all of the events.
He had big news. And the first person he wanted to share it with was Sara. He’d never felt the need to share something like this with someone else before.
No matter how much he wanted to deny it, Sara was special. Sure the beginning of their story had been rocky, but somewhere along the way, things had changed between them. Instead of the hostility that had ebbed between them, it had been replaced with a flow of friendship—and perhaps more. His steps came quicker. Was it possible Sara felt the same way toward him?
When he reached the steps to Sara’s apartment, he took them two at a time. They’d been floating and dancing around the subject of them for long enough. It was time to be honest with each other.
He stepped onto the landing and moved to the door. His knuckles rapped on the door.Please be home.
As though in answer to his wish, the door opened. Sara stood there with a neutral look on her face. “Kent, now isn’t a good time.”
“But I have news.”
“That’s nice, but I’m not the one you should be talking to. I’m sure your parents would like to hear the news.”
“They can wait. Please let me in.”
She didn’t move, and he was starting to think she wasn’t going to move. But he wasn’t going to just walk away. It was important they speak.
With a sigh, Sara opened the door for him to enter. It was progress. He moved into the middle of the room. He noticed that she left the door open as she turned to face him. Was that her way of letting him know that as soon as he had his say he was being kicked to the curb?
He ignored the implication and instead focused on the reason for his visit. “I got the job.”
The neutral expression remained on her face. “Congratulations.”
He noticed how her one-word response lacked any emotion. “Thank you. I’m supposed to start in a couple of weeks.”
For a moment, she didn’t respond. She stepped back to the open doorway and leaned against it. “When do you leave?”
“I don’t know. I haven’t accepted the position yet.”
“You should. It’s the new beginning you were looking for.”
